Kolkata: State Education minister Partha Chatterjee said on Wednesday that the policy to appoint teachers in their home districts will help improve the quality of school education. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced the policy decision on Tuesday and tweeted: "We are proud of our teachers and our students. Teachers are the main guardians, who have a huge contribution towards our society and nation building, through nurturing our students for becoming true leaders of tomorrow." "On the eve of Saraswati Puja, being an ideal time also to express our gratitude to all our teachers, we have taken a policy decision of posting all teachers in their respective home districts," she had said. "This historic decision will help them take care of their own families and work with complete peace of mind and full attention while contributing to the great work of nation building. My best wishes to everyone," the Chief Minister added. Chatterjee said that the Education department had mooted the proposal which was approved by the state Cabinet and it was announced by Mamata Banerjee. Stating that the policy will help the teachers concentrate more on their work, he added: "Teaching is not a 9 to 5 job. A good teacher should help the students build their all-round personality. To do this, the teachers need mental peace." Chatterjee said many district teachers spend a lot of time in transit to reach their place of work. "It is often seen that a teacher from Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas may have to go to Kalyani in Nadia to teach students. The teacher spends most of the time travelling and when the person reaches the school, little energy is left to teach the students. The policy will put an end to this age-old system," he added. He said the steps will be taken to make the recruitment and transfer policy transparent. During recruitment, a teacher will opt for the home district. "Now it is often seen that a teacher joins a school away from the home district and then approaches the School Education department for transfer. If the teacher is transferred, it is difficult to get a replacement and as a result the students get badly affected," the minister said. Chatterjee added that the recruitment of teachers often gets delayed as those who fail to get the job move to different forums for redress. This unnecessarily delays the recruitment process, affecting the education of the students. "The new policy will benefit both the students and the teachers and improve the education system," Chatterjee remarked.

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